Head band for masks, etc.



May 15, 1956 C. D. @UPP 2,745,401

HEAD BAND FOR MASKS, ETC

Filed May 7, 1951 United States Patent HEAD BAND FOR VlVIASKS, ETC.

Charles D. Cupp, Lancaster, N. Y., assignor to Scott Aviation Corporation, Lancaster, N. Y.

Application May 7 1951, 'Serial No. 224,872

4 Claims. (Cl. 12S-441) This invention relates to a head bandfor a mask'or the like, and more particularly to 'an adjustable, Velastic head bank connected at its opposite ends to 'such a breathing '-mask as that shown and.described-in.myco-pending patent application, Serial No. 214,584, Iled March-8, 1951, now VPatent No. 2,655,150, granted Gctob'er 13, 1953, Eby 'Charles D. Cupp, and entitled Breathing Apparatus.

'Ihe principal object of the invention `-is to lproduce `a head band of -this character, which maybe manufactured at extremely low cost, and, also, is constituted .almost entirely of combustible components Yso as to be easily disposed of yin an incinerator after it Ahas become con- -tarninated in use. -Other collateral objects of the invention and practical solutions thereof are -describe'd in the following specification and vare illustrated Vin the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. l is a diminutive side perspective of .a breathing mask provided with my improved head band. Y

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary,-subs'tantially horizontal section through the head band andmask,itaken-by line 2 2 Fig. l, showing'the permanent attachment of theoneiend of the head band'to the mask.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, side elevation of that-portion of the head band and mask which 'is shown in lFig. 2, looking from the outside of the mask, i. e., down in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 isa fragmentary, substantially vhorizontal sec- -tion through the head band and mask, taken on line 44 Fig. l, somewhat similar to Fig. 2 but showing the detachable attachment of the lhead band to the `mask.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, side elevation of that portion of the head band and mask which is shown in fEig. 4,

looking from the Yinside of the mask, i. e., down in Fig. 4.

Fig. vv6 is both an oblique and Yinclined perspective view of the buckle of the headband.

Fig. 7 4is a 'fragmentary medial longitudinal section through said buckle and associated parts, showing how the length of the head band may be tightened (shortened) while the mask is on the wearers face and with the head band in its attached position, by merely pulling on the free end of the head band as indicated by the arrow.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary, medial, longitudinal section through the buckle and associated parts, somewhat similar to Fig. 7 but showing the buckle detached from the mask and swung around back so as to free the head band and allow it to be lengthened by pulling its main body in the direction indicated by the arrow. (The head band can, of course, also be shortened in this position if desired.)

Similar characters of reference indicate like parts in the several figures of the drawing.

Fig. 1 illustrates my improved head band A as applied to the type of breathing mask shown and described in my aforesaid co-pending patent application Serial No. 214,584. This mask, in general, includes the mask 10 proper which is constructed of porous crepe paper held together by staples 11 and 12, and having an aperture 13 at its lower, forward edge. This aperture lcommunicates with a ilexible (but inelastic) rebreather bag 14 that is supplied with oxygen under pressure from an oxygen supply tube 15 om which the oxygen emerges downwardly from its slits 16.

At the start of the inhalation cycle, the wearer `first inhales the contents of the rebreather bag (into which at this time there is a rapid flow of oxygen from oxygen supply tube 15), and Athen inhales ambient air 'which passes inwardly through the pores of the mask 10. This first lls the lungs with a mixture which is rich in oxygen, and thereafter fills the windpipe with plain air. This utilizes the oxygen to maximum advantage. At this end of the inhalation cycle the fluid pressure Ain the lrebreather bag 14 and in the mask 10 is relatively low,1and `this 'results in a rapid flow of oxygen 'throughthe oxygen supply tube 15 and into said bag. At the start of the exhalation cycle, the air in the windpipe passes into the rebreather bag 14, as also does some Vof the partially utilized oxygen from 'the upper part of the lungs. The rest of the lexhalation consists of almost totally oxygendepleted, foul air from the bottom of the lungs `and this foul air passes out through the lpores of the mask .10. During all of this exhalation cycle the pressure .in the rebreather bag is relatively high, and this results in a slowing down of the rate of oxygen ow through the oxygen inlet tube 15. This flow is, however, suiliciently `rapid to ensure a sufficient quantity of oxygen in the rebreather bag before the start of the next inhalation.

The principal feature of the present invention involves the head band -A for Yadjustably and elastically holding the oronasal mask 10 against the face of the wearer. The kprincipal constituent of this head band is an elastic strap 17 'which may be constituted of rubber bands covered by and also interwoven with threads or cords of rayon or the like.

The one (left) end of this elastic strap 17 is permanently connected to the mask 10. This is 'effected in an inexpensive but sturdy manner whereby tearing of the mask at the point of attachment -is minimized. This result is obtained by first perforating the rear, -left corner -of 'the mask to Iform the circular aperture 1S, and then 'passing the end 20 of thestrap 17 Vinwardly through said aperture and covering this end with a covering patch 'or plate 2'1, preferably of the plastic, adhesive type. The latter also covers the inner face of that portion of the strap which is located Vin the circular aperture 13. This preventsrsaid strap from becoming twisted in said aperture. To carry the heavy longitudinal strains to whichthe strap 17 may become subjected, this aforesaid inner end 2) of the strap 17 is also secured to both the mask 10 itself and also to said covering plate 21 by a staple 22. If desired, the staple 22, may be applied first, and its exposed inner ends then covered over by the covering plate 21.

The other end 23 of said strap 17 is both detachably and adjustably connected with the other (right) side of the mask 10. This is accomplished by the use of a novel buckle B which is longitudinally adjustable, relatively to the strap, and is adapted to be connected to a hook 24 which forms part of the sheet metal or other fastener 25, the latter being secured to the mask in the following manner: Formed in the right, rear corner of the mask is the circular aperture 18a, and through this aperture, in the manufacturing assembly operation, is outwardly passed the reduced neck 26 of the fastener 25, the front end of said reduced neck 26 terminating in aforesaid hook 24. 'I'he rear, enlarged portion 29 of said fastener 25 lies against the inner face of the mask and is held in place by a securing plate 27, constructed preferably of a sheet of plastic, adhesive material.

The buckle B is shown in tipped, oblique perspective in Fig. 6. It is preferably constructed of a single piece of light bar stock, such as wire, and is constituted as follows: The substantially parallel side bars 30 and 31 of said buckle are resiliently connected together at one end by a cross tie 32. The other ends of said side bars are curvilinearly bent'toward each other to form grip-l ping arms 33 and 34, the latter being resiliently urged slightly away from each other (see Figs. 7 and 8) by the resilient nature of aforesaid cross tie 32. The termini of said gripping arms 33, 34 are bent sharply inwardly to form guard fingers 35, 36 which are positioned substantially at right angles to the main axis of the buckle B. The purpose of these guard ngers 35, 36 is to prevent the strap 17 from becoming twisted in the buckle, and also to prevent the bights of said strap from moving too far away from the gripping bars 33, 34.

To prevent the outer or free end 37 of the strap A from accidently being drawn clear through the buckle B, and thereby becoming entirely disengaged therefrom, said free end of said strap is double back twice upon itself (see Fig. l), so as to form a thickened portion or safety stop 38 and held in this twice doubled back position by a staple 40, or by any other suitable means.

The operation of this buckle B is as follows: When the person who is to wear the mask iirst receives it, the double-back portion or safety stop 38 is close to the buckle B. This permits the mask to accommodate the maximum size of head. After the mask has been placed in position on the wearers face, the free end 37 is pulled in the direction of the arrow of Fig. 7 until the strap has been sufficiently shortened in effective length so as to comfortably but snugly hold the mask in place. The wearer or whoever is iitting the mask, then releases his hold on the free end 37 of the strap, the coupling of the buckle to the strap having been effected automatically as regards any strain on the engaged portion 23 of the strap in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4. Of course, if the wearer should desire to tighten the strap still tighter, he has merely to pull on the free end 37 of the strap a suicient distance to effect the desired tightening. The buckle automatically prevents any tendency of the effective portion of the strap to lengthen, i. e., by any force on the portion 23 of the strap as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4.

If, on the other hand, the size of the head band A is too small for the wearers head, he merely rotates the outer end of the buckle B in a counterclockwise direction (as seen in Fig. 8) a sufhcient angular distance (say 130 or more), and then pulls on the effective portion 23 of the strap 17 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 8. This lengthens the effective length of said strap 17 and hence of the head band A taken as a whole. Of

course, no attempt ought to be made to accurately adjust the head band A to any particular persons head by this operation of increasing its head size Accurate adjustment is preferably obtained by lengthening, if necessary, the size of the head band until it slips easily over the wearers head, and then decreasing the size by pulling on the free end 37 `of the strap 17 until the head lit is exactly as desired. An alternative method for increasing the size of the head band is, of course, to loosen the bight or loop 41 and then to thread the strap in the desired direction through the buckle. But this operation is not as convenient as the one previously described.

I claim:

1. A head band associated with a mask having an aperture, and comprising: a fastener secured to the inner face of said mask and having a reduced neck passing outwardly through said aperture and terminating in a hook; a buckle adapted to engage with said hook; and a strap connected with said buckle. i

2. A head band associated with a mask having a circular aperture, and comprising: a fastener secured to the inner face of said mask and having a reduced neck passing outwardly through said aperture and terminating in a hook; and a buckle provided with a strap and adapted to engage with said hook.

3. A head band associated with a mask having a circular aperture, and comprising: a fastener secured to the inner face of said mask and having a reduced neck passing outwardly through said aperture and terminating in a hook; a `securing plate secured to the inner face of Said mask and covering the inner portions of said fastener; and a buckle provided with a strap and adapted to engage with said hook.

4. A head band associated with a mask and comprising: a strap; and a buckle constituted of a pair of straight side bars connected together at one end by a transverse cross tie; each of said side bars being integrally connected at its other end to a transverse gripping arm, and each of said gripping arms being integrally connected with a transverse guard finger which extends clear ,across the buckle and is positioned next to its companion guard arm.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 311,101 Blomstrom Jan. 20, 1885 651,812 Krause June l2, 1900 663,877 Friedenberg Dec. 18, 1900 1,453,365 Malcom May l, 1923 1,468,037 Shepherd Sept. 18, 1923 1,837,591 Shindel Dec. 22, 1931 2,324,929 Jennings July 20, 1943 2,341,566 Monro Feb. 15, 1944 

